Hypertension or high blood pressure is considered to be one of the main risk factors for Cardio Vascular Diseases. One of the mechanisms which regulates blood pressure is the renin-angiotensin system. This is a cascade of reactions leading to the formation of angiotensin II, which has a strong vasoconstrictive and hence blood pressure increasing effect. Inhibition of one of the key enzymes in this cascade: Angiotensin I Converting Enzyme (ACE) reduces formation of angiotensin II and thus has a blood pressure lowering effect.
The degradation of milk proteins with proteinases from Lactobacillus helveticus which has been employed for producing fermented milk for a long time as a typical lactic acid bacteria starter for dairy milk products, produced peptides with ACE-inhibiting activity that had a significant antihypertensive effect in spontaneously hypertensive rats (Yamamoto, Akino, & Takano, 1994). The same effect was observed with fermented milk containing L. helveticus (Nakamura, Yamamoto, Sakai, Okubo et al., 1995).
In fact, it has now been showed that milk fermented with Lactobacillus helveticus (L. helveticus) contains small peptides such as isoleucyl-prolyl-proline (Ile-Pro-Pro, IPP) and valyl-prolyl-proline (Val-Pro-Pro, VPP), which inhibit the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE).
A commercially available fermented milk product, which claims to be “suitable for those with mild hypertension” is Calpis sour milk, fermented with Lactobacillus helveticus and Saccharomyces cervisiae, produced by Calpis Food Industry, Japan.
Another commercially available fermented milk product is EVOLUS™ produced by Valio, Finland, which claims to be the first European functional food to “help lower blood pressure”.
Both fermented milk products are fermented with Lactobacillus helveticus strains. The products contain bioactive peptides (VPP and IPP) responsible for in vitro ACE inhibition, which are produced by proteolysis of caseins. Compared to other lactic acid bacteria L. helveticus is one of the most efficient proteolytic Lactobacillus species. 
However, there is still a need for alternative lactic bacteria strains of the genus L. helveticus that has a particular high production of hypotensive peptides that can be prepared easily and provided to consumers in an agreeable form to take.